(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel.
(b) Description of Related Art
A flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting display (OLED) includes a display panel including a plurality of pixels and a plurality of signal lines connected thereto, a plurality of drivers for driving the display panel, and a controller for controlling the drivers.
The drivers usually include a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) chips that are mounted on flexible printed circuit (FPC) films attached to the display panel or mounted directly on the display panel. The driver chips are supplied with control signals and driving voltages from a printed circuit board (PCB) that mount a plurality of circuit elements including the controller and a voltage generator.
When the driving chips are mounted directly on the display panel, FPC films including a plurality of conductive lines are provided between the display panel and the PCB for transmitting control signals, driving voltages, and image data. The FPC films are attached to the display panel and the electrical connection between the FPC films and the driving chips is implemented by a plurality of lead lines formed on the display panel. The driving chips generate display signals based on signals and voltages from the FPC films and apply the display signals to the signal lines on the display panel.
The lead lines on the display panel have contact portions contacting the FPC films and the driving chips, and the signal lines on the display panel also have contact portions contacting the driving chips.
The contact portions may include several conductive films. The contact between the conductive films and between the contact portions and the driving chips or the FPC films are often defected and the poor contact may cause corrosion of the conductive films to disconnect the transmission of signals and voltages. Accordingly, it is required to provide reliable contact structures.